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The Dungeons & Dragons Online expansion, Shadowfell Conspiracy, is set to hit live service on Monday, August 19th. We recently were able to participate in a developer tour of the new content and have a great preview for your viewing pleasure. Check it out before heading to the comments.

Wheloon Prison has an ominous mood, set with dark tones and light but constant rain. It is a place filled with criminals, shadows, and gargoyles. The gargoyles, by far, were my favorite creature I encountered within the Wheloon Prison, pulling off a fascinating combination of stone and leather appearance at once. The Prison is also being used as the staging ground for the Netherese to raise an army to take over the city. Danger can be found lurking between large boxes, alleyways, and even the rooftops. Players navigate the rooftops using connecting ramps, fighting above the city as they battle through packs of enemies.

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Originally posted by ChaulsinNLHow long did they let you play, 5 minutes? :p

It was around 30 mins. Most of it was a guided tour though. I didn't get to explore much and was teleported around for most of it. I left out some of the details as I didn't want to spoil the event endings. In hindsight I could have asked more questions and maybe dug a little deeper, in the future I will definitely be doing this. However, like I said, I don't play DDO all that much and it was an opportunity to meet with the great devs over at Turbine. I do plan on playing more of DDO in the future though.

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Graphics ain't that bad compared to what you get in the game. In how many games can you say you can move and attack properly? DDO has a lot of aspects of freedom other games sorely lack. The gameplay is awesome, can hold interest for years. The amount of ways to build your character is staggering. All of the quests are different, each quest is a "dungeon", with different loot, monsters, hidden doors, traps, bosses, story, narration, loot, environment, objectives, optionals, which makes it so much more fun from all the other games. If you like the challenge you have that too, you can choose the difficulty of each dungeon which in turn affects the rewards. The game is social, you'll group a lot and its really easy to find a group, the LFG panel is simple to post and apply on. You can always solo although it will be harder on the higher difficulties and slower than with a group. I've played DDO for quite some time and keep coming back, just because its so much better than the other stuff out there.

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Originally posted by VivasvanI always wanted to try this.. Does it have dungeons instances and trinity system? After all DnD started it all for me

It is based on Quests with dedicated instances to each quest. You enter alone or as a party, up to you. You choose the difficulty of the quest when entering and you can choose from Casual, Normal, Hard or Elite. Once you hit lvl 20 you can start doing some of those 1-20 quests on Epic versions pluss there are a number of purely Epic quests.

You can play trinity-style and have a dedicated healer and tank. However, it is possible to make very strong characters that can handle quests without either. You wont make that character in a week though. It takes several TR (true reincarnation, which sets you back from lvl 20 to 1 again but with added benefits) and proper gearing to achieve such a strong character.

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Originally posted by ChaulsinNLHow long did they let you play, 5 minutes? :p

No offense, but this post pretty much sums up this "preview". Also, what were the specs of the PC used to play? Those screenshots are quite terrible in quality.

Those screenshots are bout spot on with what you are gonna get. DDO is a dated game and has always been bit of an eyesore. Game needs a serious reboot or graphics overhaul,,, big time.

Have to completely disagree with those statements. About equal to all the AAA games that are popular now. Look around, developers don't make high graphic MMOs because it cuts down on the number of computers that can play it. Just ask SOE about EQ II, they came out with a graphics engine that did not run well on many computers at that time and Wow just blew them away with a less graphically intense design.

Graphic bigots are a dime a dozen on this site and usually fail to address reality.

I have tried DDO multiple times and just cannot get into it. Too many restrictions derived from the game board ruleset.

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Originally posted by ChaulsinNLHow long did they let you play, 5 minutes? :p

No offense, but this post pretty much sums up this "preview". Also, what were the specs of the PC used to play? Those screenshots are quite terrible in quality.

Those screenshots are bout spot on with what you are gonna get. DDO is a dated game and has always been bit of an eyesore. Game needs a serious reboot or graphics overhaul,,, big time.

Have to completely disagree with those statements. About equal to all the AAA games that are popular now. Look around, developers don't make high graphic MMOs because it cuts down on the number of computers that can play it. Just ask SOE about EQ II, they came out with a graphics engine that did not run well on many computers at that time and Wow just blew them away with a less graphically intense design.

Graphic bigots are a dime a dozen on this site and usually fail to address reality.

I have tried DDO multiple times and just cannot get into it. Too many restrictions derived from the game board ruleset.

One doe not need to have high quality, detailed graphics which only hinders a games market like AoC, but one does want a visually appealing game. DDO is EXTREMELY dated and the graphics are not all that great at all. Hell even the armor models are the most atrocious plate mail tights that a 7 yr old can do better designs on.

Yes graphics aren't everything and DDOs class system and character building is the best around in regards to freedom and customization. Graphics ARE NOT a strong point in DDO, far from it. The game uses old technology and really needs to do a reboot which if they did I really think it will greatly rejuvenate the game and demolish that POS called Neverwinter.

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People bitching about DDO graphics have no idea what they are talking about. Get the high res client and crank it to max. Looks better to me than most other later games.

But then again, who cares about graphics. Its the gameplay in DDO that shines. Pure fps style combat.

And you must not play any other MMOs and if you think that DDO is better than most later games then you are being a blind rabid fan and better start passing out whatever your taking cause whatever it is must be damn pretty potent stuff to distort you opinion that much.

I have played DDO for years with the high res client and the graphics were ALWAYS dated and an eyesore in todays day and age. But I played DDO not for the graphics but for the game mechanics and features. Graphics are acceptable at least for now but no way near anything to write home about.

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People bitching about DDO graphics have no idea what they are talking about. Get the high res client and crank it to max. Looks better to me than most other later games.

But then again, who cares about graphics. Its the gameplay in DDO that shines. Pure fps style combat.

And you must not play any other MMOs and if you think that DDO is better than most later games then you are being a blind rabid fan and better start passing out whatever your taking cause whatever it is must be damn pretty potent stuff to distort you opinion that much.

I have played DDO for years with the high res client and the graphics were ALWAYS dated and an eyesore in todays day and age. But I played DDO not for the graphics but for the game mechanics and features. Graphics are acceptable at least for now but no way near anything to write home about.

I play pretty much every MMO that comes out. I would like to hear what is so "sore to the eyes" as you like to call it about DDO. The detail is great, the animations are pretty good. Much of the armor could be better skinned but it has deep detail to it.

Which MMOs the last few years would you say has better graphics? Star Wars TOR? Looked like garbage to me. Everquest 2? "Stick-up-my-ass" animations but more detail than DDO, granted. The Secret World? Yes, that one is better in all departments graphicaly. Age of Conan? No way. Rift? Nope. Darkfall Unholy Wars? ROFL... WoW? Nope. But then I guess my taste in graphics might not be the same as yours.

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I think DDO still looks good. I don't really like the character models. I think most of the characters, and all of the elves and half-elves look ugly. But the scenery and overall aesthetic is pretty good. It's immersive and that matters most to me.

Now the game feels a lot like a custom rules campaign where the DM ran out of ideas for the main theme and started bolting over-the-top pieces to keep the momentum of the game going; each bolt on addition being a little more far reaching than before. There has to be a way to reset the sanity of the campaign or it starts getting outlandish and long in the tooth.

Turbine should swing a deal with Hasbro and WotC to open up other settings. Offer new leveling experiences within those settings. Offer means at high levels of travelling between those campaign settings via something like Planescape or Spelljammer (or another setting that lends itself well to cross dimensional transportation).

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Originally posted by Torvaldr

I think DDO still looks good. I don't really like the character models. I think most of the characters, and all of the elves and half-elves look ugly. But the scenery and overall aesthetic is pretty good. It's immersive and that matters most to me.

Now the game feels a lot like a custom rules campaign where the DM ran out of ideas for the main theme and started bolting over-the-top pieces to keep the momentum of the game going; each bolt on addition being a little more far reaching than before. There has to be a way to reset the sanity of the campaign or it starts getting outlandish and long in the tooth.

Turbine should swing a deal with Hasbro and WotC to open up other settings. Offer new leveling experiences within those settings. Offer means at high levels of travelling between those campaign settings via something like Planescape or Spelljammer (or another setting that lends itself well to cross dimensional transportation).

Well, I've had a feeling they've hinted at Dragonlance in the future (producer saying he had the Dragonlance box on his desk etc). But I think we'll just have to wait and see. It's got some years under the belt now and the MMO market keeps getting new big titles released so who knows the longevity of DDO? But its still a fun game in great customization and versatility. The combat is second to none in the MMO market today. It carries much of the adrenaline pump from Asheron's Call 1 in its FPS style combat.

Turbine has been slacking a bit on the quality the last few years and the bugs rear their ugly heads now and then. I'm a bit leery about the release of the expansion on monday. They've had some pretty bad patch happenings before so I wouldnt be surprised to see a loooong downtime.

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People bitching about DDO graphics have no idea what they are talking about. Get the high res client and crank it to max. Looks better to me than most other later games.

But then again, who cares about graphics. Its the gameplay in DDO that shines. Pure fps style combat.

And you must not play any other MMOs and if you think that DDO is better than most later games then you are being a blind rabid fan and better start passing out whatever your taking cause whatever it is must be damn pretty potent stuff to distort you opinion that much.

I have played DDO for years with the high res client and the graphics were ALWAYS dated and an eyesore in todays day and age. But I played DDO not for the graphics but for the game mechanics and features. Graphics are acceptable at least for now but no way near anything to write home about.

I play pretty much every MMO that comes out. I would like to hear what is so "sore to the eyes" as you like to call it about DDO. The detail is great, the animations are pretty good. Much of the armor could be better skinned but it has deep detail to it.

Which MMOs the last few years would you say has better graphics? Star Wars TOR? Looked like garbage to me. Everquest 2? "Stick-up-my-ass" animations but more detail than DDO, granted. The Secret World? Yes, that one is better in all departments graphicaly. Age of Conan? No way. Rift? Nope. Darkfall Unholy Wars? ROFL... WoW? Nope. But then I guess my taste in graphics might not be the same as yours.

Um... Almost all the games you just mentioned look way better than DDO (especially if they are cranked up to their highest settings).

I like DDO but to state that Age of Conan and RIFT have worse graphics than DDO is just a huge lie.

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This new expansion looks good but I think they need to make a new starting area for DDO in Forgotten Realms that way a player can choose to start in Eberron or the realms. This game does have some of the best setups I have seen in most games to where you can run a dungeon with anything even the epic ones I have done them with Battles clerics and Paladins that are paladins this game is great in that way but the very compressed landscape in the original game all the way up to the release of the latter content that game it more of a open world feel.

I do still get on and play this from time to time with my old group so we can run our odd group of Bard, Ranger, Druid, and Cleric and we dont play the tank healer dps way either we play as a group.

To me I enjoy gaming I dont play to be uber I play to have fun. If a game is not fun to me guess what I move on and play something else till I find one that is. When I find that great game and not sure if in my life time there will be one I hope it has everything I want in an mmo.

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Aesthetically DDO looks good. The graphics aren't the prettiest but that is expected and they never bothered me. What I enjoyed most out of the game was the narration in the dungeon crawls and the mix of platforming, secret passages and traps. It broke up dungeons being path(s) that you follow. I was constantly searching all around me for secrets and dangers.

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I believe you quite misunderstood my post. I play DDO on and off since its release, and frankly, the graphics are good enough. My commentary was really regarding the actual screenshots because I know for a fact that they were not taken using the game's highest graphical settings. Either way, DDO is the best dungeon crawler around in my opinion.